Desalination Plant

Desalination plants from Veolia Water Technologies South Africa (Veolia) comprise large-scale, permanent desalination plants used for municipal purposes and small-scale package desalination plants for industrial processes and for municipal purposes in remote regions.

Veolia’s desalination plants, used by companies and municipalities across South Africa and into Africa, are tailored to treat either seawater or brackish water. Approximately one quarter of world demand for water desalination is to treat brackish water. The most common method of water desalination is desalination by reverse osmosis (RO).

Whatever the water source, Veolia Water Technologies has built more than 1 900 Reverse Osmosis desalination plants and systems in 85 countries over the last 4 decades! Combined, they produce more than 6.5 million m3/day of fresh water for both municipal and industrial needs. Complete the enquiry form for more info on desalination plants from Veolia South Africa

Large Scale Municipal Desalination Plants

Municipal desalination plant benefits

Large scale municipal desalination plants are largely for seawater desalination and provide numerous benefits for both the municipalities and their communities:

Improved water security by supplementing available water resources with quality fresh water

Ensures compliance with all relevant drinking water standards

Maximum return on investment coupled with eliminating the need to import fresh water. A huge cost-saving.

Guarantees a secure water supply during droughts and in arid locations

Veolia South Africa’s large scale desalination plants in Eastern and Western Cape

Mossel Bay – Western Cape

In 2010, the worst drought in over 130 years caused the southern Cape to be declared a disaster area. Veolia designed, constructed and now operates a turnkey RO seawater desalination plant that supplies up to 15 mega litres per day, effectively mitigating the risk of the town's people and industries running out of high-quality fresh water.

Key figures:

This seawater desalination plant is 10 times bigger than anything previously built in South Africa at the time.

Cannon Rocks & Boknes Communities – Eastern Cape

An RO seawater desalination plant supplies communities with up to 750 m³ of fresh water per day. This plant removes salt from the raw ground water, which finds its way into ground water by means of seawater intrusion. This plant's water complies with SANS 241 specifications – high-quality drinking water.

Plettenberg Bay – Eastern Cape

Veolia helped to alleviate a water shortage in Plettenberg Bay by building a 2 mega litre per day seawater desalination plant next to the town's iconic Beacon Isle Hotel. As a key tourist destination, Veolia ensured the plant's footprint was as compact as possible, as well as aesthetically sound.

Knysna – Western Cape

A 2 mega litre per day seawater desalination plant sources water from the nearby Knysna lagoon. Since the plant was constructed close to the town's wastewater treatment works, any brine can be discharged along with the treated water, responsibly reducing the risk of excessive salinity in the eco-sensitive region. This plant further features an energy recovery system to significantly reduce the desalination process' energy consumption.

Lamberts Bay – Western Cape

Veolia designed, built and commissioned a 1.7 mega litre per day seawater desalination plant for the Cederberg Municipality in the Western Cape to help alleviate growing pressure on the region's water supply. A very tight capital budget required the plant designs be optimised to allow for a future seawater desalination capacity increase to 5 mega litres per day.

A clean, renewable and consistent fresh water supply! Build a cost-effective seawater desalination plant! Contact Veolia to find out how.

Small Scale Desalination Plants

Small scale desalination plants, otherwise known as desalination package plants or modular desalination plants provide an environmentally responsible and affordable way to create fresh water for temporary locations and remote coastal settlements, as well as process water for industry if required.

These desalination plants fit into an easily installed compact container that can be transported from site to site if necessary, or used as a permanent structure with an extremely small footprint, but catering to limited demand. Potable and process water can be produced using various desalination methods and water treatment processes and chemicals.

No requirement is too small for these processes and technologies, with desalination package plant capacities beginning from a mere 0.075 mega litres. Regardless of size requirements, Veolia provides a complete range of desalination plant services, including maintenance, membrane replacement and chemical supply.

Holiday Resort - Mauritius

Two reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant solutions were supplied to a four star hotel in Mauritius. Each desalination plant produces approximately 0.0625 mega litres per day (totalling 0.125 mega litres per day), and features energy recovery technology to make the total solution as energy efficient as possible.

Cannon Rocks and Boknes - Eastern Cape

Veolia refurbished the Ndlambe Municipality's existing drinking water plant to produce 750 m3 of SANS 241-compliant potable water per day. Because seawater intrudes into the region's groundwater, the desalination plant is necessary to remove dissolved salts.

Once commissioned, Veolia operated and maintained the desalination plant for a period of 14 months, ensuring maximum efficiency and reliability.

Brackish Water Desalination Plants

Brackish water desalination plants are, primarily, small scale / package plants used by industry for process water, but also used by municipalities to bring inland brackish water up to process and potable water standards.

Acid mine water from acid mine drainage, for example, and inland water streams with high levels of total dissolved solids can be turned into high-grade fresh water with Veolia’s water desalination technology. By separating salts, heavy metals and other impurities from water, numerous benefits can be achieved.

Brackish water desalination plant benefits

Fresh water desalinated from brine streams can supplement existing water supplies

Polluted water is reclaimed and made less environmentally hazardous

The need to transport water to water-stressed locations is reduced

The sale of water desalination by-products, such as salt and other minerals, can create additional income and supplement the plant's operating expenses

The Veolia Group Company has more than 160 years of water treatment experience, which enables it and its subsidiaries like Veolia South Africa to design, construct, commission and operate desalination plants effectively, be they large- or small-scale desalination plants for seawater or brackish water.